Machine for wiring the edges of sheet-metal vessels



(No Model.) j e Sheets-Sheet 1. H. S. REYNOLDS.

MACHINE FOR WIRING THE BDGES 0P SHEET METAL VESSBLS'. No. 505,675.Patented-Sept. 26, 18931.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

, V H. s. REYNOLDS. MACHINE FOR WIRING THE EDGES OF SHEET METALVE'SSELS.

No. 505,575. V Patented Sept. 25, 1893.

i U 5 mm I I, IO]

\\ 5 i 1 v I I 0 O L 4 j 6 5 4 L n Mb g wi (No Model.) 6 SheetsSheet 3.

H. S. REYNOLDS. MACHINE FOR WIRING THE EDGES 0F SHEET METAL VESSELYS.

No. 505,675. Pate-nted S ept. 26, 189.3.

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

H. S. REYNOLDS. 'MAGHINE EOE WIRING THE EDGES OP SHEET METAL VESSELS.

No. 505,675. Patented Sept. 26, 1893.

{No Model.) 6 ShetsSheet 5.

H. s. REYNOLDS. MAGHINEEOR WIRING THE EDGES 0P SHEET METAL VESSELS.

No. 505,675. Patented Sept. 26, 1893.

A lllll No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 6.

H. S REYNOLDS. MACHINE FOR WIRING THE EDGES 0P SHEET METAL VBSSELS.

No. 505,675. PatentedSepLZfi, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY S. REYNOLDS, OF BROOKLYN, N EWV YORK.

MACHINE FOR WIRING THE EDGES OF SHEET-METAL VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 505,675, datedSeptember 26, 1893. Application filed October 14, 1891. Serial No. 408,714. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY S. REYNOLDS, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines forWiring the Edges of Sheet-Metal Vessels, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to the wiring of the edges of sheet metalvessels, such as coffee pots, cans, 850., so that the metal will berolled over the wire to form a smooth edge or head.

It is the object of thisinvention to produce a machine by means of whichthe wiring op eration can be performed automatically and at the sametime much more rapidly and cheaply than heretofore, and with substantialuniformity.

The construction and operation of my machine are fully disclosed in thefollowing specification and accompanying drawings, the letters andnumerals of reference in which indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the completemachine, and Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a frontelevation of the shaping and forming head, and Fig. 4.- a side elevationof the same. Fig. 5 is a front sectional view of the shaping and forminghead when in the position of forming the bead on the vessel, and Fig. 6,a similar view of the shaping and forming head just after the bead hasbeen formed and the vessel released. Fig. 7 is a sectional side view ofthe shaping and forming head, showing the details, of the wire cuttingdevice in position to allow the wire to pass through the cutter. Fig. 8is a plan of the under side of the shaping and forming head. Fig. 9 is aside sectional view of the shaping and forming head showing the positionof the wire cutting device just after cutting the wire; and Fig. 10 is arear elevation of the cuttingdevice.

The operating parts of the machine consist in general terms of a formupon which the vessel to be wired can be placed and firmly held, capableof movement horizontally and vertically so as to bring it in positionunder a shaping head. This head is mounted in the machine so as toreciprocate vertically, when the machine is in operation, to bring itdown upon and withdraw it from the vessel to be wired. The shaper isprovided with an annular horizontal groove, the lower part of which canbe nearly closed by horizontally movable jaws. Wire is fed into thisgroove and automatically cut off when a ring has been formed, and theedge of the sheet metal vessel is then forced over this wire, making asmooth-turned bead upon the vessel. After the head is formed, the upwardmovement of the shaping head releases the vessel, which is removed fromthe form by hand, and another placed in position.

The cycle of operation in forming the complete bead consists of sixsteps, as follows: first, placing the vessel to be wired upon the formof the machine; second, feeding the necessary amount of wire into thegroove in the shaping head; third, cutting the wire off; fourth, forcingthe metal of the vessel around the wire to form the bead; fifth,releasing the vessel from the shaping head, and, siXth,removing thewired vessel from the holding form of the machine.

Referring to the drawings, the main body A of the machine may be of anysuitable make of power press, the head I being caused to verticallyreciprocate upon the guides Y, Y in the usual way, by means of theconnecting rod B attached to the shaft of the pulley O. The bed D isadjustable vertically by means of the hand-wheel J, running on the screwF, and the face 1, of said bed is movable horizontally by the handle 2,(Fig. 1,) its inward movement being limited and adjusted by setscrew 3,(Fig. 2) working through the lug t on said face, and regulated by lockor jamnut 5.

Attached to the reciprocating head I is a plate W, to which there isattached the forming and shaping head K. The construction of the part isshown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6. Referring to these figures, e is ahorizontal plate attached to the reciprocating head I by the screw shankf. This plate is provided with radially movable jaws, d, d, d, d", shownin plan on the under sidein Fig. 8. These jaws have extensions to abovetheplate e to meet the taper projections 72, h on'the plate by theapproach of which toward each other, the jaws d, d, d, d" are thrownradially outward when the work is to be released from the machine. Thejaws d, (l, d, d are normally kept in position against the edge of theplate e by the spring 0. The under side of the plate 6 is provided withan annular channel g, g, semi-circular in cross-section, which channelconstitutes the space into which the wire is fed and the sheet metal ofthe vessel forced around it. The center of the plate 6 projects beyondthe surface of the plate and is made slightly conical so as to form aplunger which enters the top of the vessel and crowds the metal into thechannel g, g, and

around the wire. The inner wall Z, Z of the channel g, g is, therefore,tapered, while the outer Wall Z, l is vertical. While the metal is beingforced around the wire N, N, the jaws d, d, d, d are in the positionshown in Fig. 5, leaving only a narrow slot between their inner edgesand the taper center of the plate (2, just sufficient to allow the sheetmetal of the vessel to enter. When the operation is completed, the jawsd, d, d, d are thrown outward by the upward movement of the extensionsu, u, against the taper projections 71., h, on the plate K, as shown inFig. 6, and described in detail below. The wire N is fed into thechannel g, g, by means of the friction wheels L, L, through the guidetube 0. (Fig. 1.) These wheels are mounted upon a frame T secured to theplate W attached to the reciprocating head I. The feeding of the wire isaccomplished by rotating the wheels by means of the crank M. The wire'is forced forward until it has traveled the length of the channel 9, g,in the shaping head 6, when it is automatically cut off. The method ofdoing this is shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9. The plate c has a slot cutthrough it at one side, extending from near the outer edge across theannular groove g, g. In this slot fits a plate 0, arranged to play in itvertically. The lower line of this movable plate is of the same shape asthe section of the plate e, it having a groove g corresponding to thegroove 9, g, and an extension a corresponding to the projecting centerof e. The plate a'has pivotedto it at Saswinging jaw c, d, which closesthe bottom of the groove g in the same manner that the bottom of thegroove g, g, in the plate 6 is closed by the radially movable jaw d, d,d, d. When the plate a is in its highest position, as shown in Fig. 9,the groove 9 coincides with the groove g, g, in the plate e, and thereis then a continuous annular channel, and the parts are in the positionfor forming the bead upon the vessel. While the wire is being fed andprior to its being cut off, the parts are in the position shown in Fig.7, in which the groove g in the plate a is below the level of the grooveg, g, in the plate 6. The wire is fed from the friction wheels throughthe guide tube 0, then through a tubular passage 0 in the plate 6 (Fig.3), and then through a hole 1) (Fig.7) in the cutter plate a, which islocated above and a little farther out than the groove g. The wire beingfed through this hole in the cutter plate passes around through thegroove g, g in the plate e until its entering end strikes the fartherside of the plate a, as shown in Fig. 8. When the wire has been thusfedin, the upward movement of the plate a, shears it off, and brings thegrooves in the plates 6 and a so that the parts are ready for theformation of the head. When the wire is cut off by the upward movementof the plate a, a short length of wire, equal to the thickness of theplate, is left in the hole I). This is pushed out by the next piece ofwire entering and is carriedalong to t, where it is dropped from themachine, a portion of the jaw (1 being cut away as shown in Fig. 8 toallow for this. The upward movement of the cutter plate a is effected onthe down stroke of the shaping head 6 by means of the lever Z pivoted tothe plate at g. This lever has a horizontal flat surface p, p at itsinner end which rests upon the top of the plate 6. The outer end of thelever is arranged to strike against the abutment R on the frame of themachine. When it does this as the shaping head moves down, the outer endof the lever is thrown up, and not being able to swing clear on accountof the face 19, 19 resting on the plate 6, the pivot q is carried up,and, in consequence, the cutter plate a to which it is attached. Thiscutter plate is thrown back to its original position ready for thefeeding in of a new length of wire, on the up stroke of the shapinghead. This is accomplished through the medium of the lever m (Figs. 3and 4) pivoted to the head W at o. The outer end of this lever rests ina notch in the top of the cutter plate a, as is shown more clearly in.Figs. 7 and 9. A stop 41 (Figs. 3 and i) limits the upward movement ofthe lever m and consequently that of the cutter plate a, while theforming plate e is free to move upward. The cutter plate a is thereforedisplaced with reference to 6 until it has reached its originalposition. After the bead has been formed upon the article it is releasedfrom the groove g, g, by the withdrawal of the jaws d, d, d, d and thepress is then ready for a repetition of the operation. This release iseffected on the upward movement of the shaping head by the mechanismshown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6. As previously stated, the radially movablejaws d, d, (1, d are provided with upward extensions u, which come incontact with the projection h on the plate is. When by the upwardmovement of the plate e these projections are forced against theextensions to, the jaws d, d, d, d are moved outward against thepressure of the springs 0, thus uncovering the bottom of the annularchannel in the plate 6. This approach of the plates 6 and it while theplate 6 is rising is effected by means of the swinging arms 19, 19.These arms are pivoted at U, U on the frame X, X of the mach ne, and aredrawn together by the spiral spring Q. Inclined notches V, V are cut inthe 1nner side of these arms, near their lower ends, and projecting pinsS, S, are attached to the head I and bear against the inner sides of thearms P, P holding them outward against the tension of the spring Q, asshown in Fig. 3. In this position, their lower ends clear the edge ofthe plate K,but when the pins S, S have entered the notches these armsare drawn together by the spring Q and their lower ends form stops forthe plate It, as shown in Fig. 5. This is the position when the head Ibegins its upstroke. The plate his centered upon the shank e of theplate e and is free to move up and down upon it. Itis normally kept inthe position shown in Fig. 5, by the spiral Springs 2', 1', shown inFig. 3. When the head I begins its upward movement carrying with it theplate 6, the plate 76 is not free to move upward as it is held down bythe ends of the arms P, P. The plates 6 and is, therefore, approach eachother and the jaws d, d, d',d are thrown outward, uncovering the groovein the plate e. As the head I rises, the pins S, S gradually press thearms P, P apart, as shown in Fig. 6, until, when the pins have clearedthe notches V, V, the ends of the arms P, P are thrown out of contactwith the plate 70. When this occurs, the springs i, '5, force the plateis up to its normal position, and the springs 0 force the jaws d, (1,cl, at back into the position shown in Fig. 5.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for wiring the edges of sheet metal vessels, thecombination of a form adapted to hold the vessel to be operated upon inplace, a reciprocating shaping head provided with a wire feeding deviceand an automatic cutting device by which the proper length of wire iscut off, means for holding the wire in the shaping head while the sheetmetal edge of the vessel isbeing forced around it, and means forreleasing the vessel when the wiring is complete, substantially asspecified.

2. A shaping head for machines for wiring the edges of sheet metalvessels, consisting of a plate provided with a groove adapted to receivethe wire and the edge of the vessel in combination with radially movablejaws secured to said shaping head and normally held in position tonearly close the groove therein, but adapted to be automatically openedto release the vessel when the wiring operation is completed,substantially as described.

3. In a shaping head fora machine for wiring the edges of sheet metalvessels, the combination of a shaping plate provided with a grooveadapted to receive both the wire and the edge of the vessel, radiallymovable jaws by means of which the groove may be nearly closed duringthe operation of wiring, and a cutter plate moving across the groove, bymeans of which the wire is cut off a predetermined length, substantiallyas specified.

4. The combination, in a shaping head for machines for wiring sheetmetal vessels, of a grooved shaping plate and a cutter platereciprocating in the same, the parts being arranged so that the wire isfed through a hole in the cutter plate and around in the groove in theshaping plate until the entering end of the wire abuts against thecutter plate, when it is sheared off by the movement of this cutterplate, substantially as specified.

Signed at NewYork,in the county of New York and State of New York, this11th day of September, A. D. 1891.

HENRY S. REYNOLDS.

Witnesses:

J. B. SABINE, ERNEST G. WEBB.

